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Peter Beardsley
| Category: | Male Player |
| Year Inducted: | 2007 |
Profile by Robert Galvin, the author of Football's Greatest Heroes, the official book of the National Football Museum Hall of Fame:
A modern prototype for the role of second striker, playing ‘in the hole' behind a recognised goalscorer, Peter Beardsley followed an unusual path on his way to becoming the most valuable footballer in the country.
His shoulders habitually hunched, the quick-witted, incisive Beardsley created scoring opportunities for a succession of strike partners, including Kevin Keegan, Alan Shearer and, most notably, Gary Lineker.
A proud Geordie and product of the famous Wallsend Boys' Club, Beardsley attained hero status in Newcastle, where he enjoyed a glorious renaissance late in his career. On Merseyside, meanwhile, he holds the distinction of scoring the winning goal for both Liverpool and Everton in derby matches.
Following a record £1.9 million transfer from Newcastle United in 1987, Beardsley spent his peak years at Anfield, where he won all his honours – two championship medals and an FA Cup winner's medal. This, for many fans on the Kop, was the most vibrant Liverpool side since the war in attack. It was all such a far cry from his early days in the game.
After a halting start to his professional career, taking in stops at Carlisle United and Vancouver Whitecaps, Beardsley finally made his breakthrough at Newcastle, alongside Kevin Keegan in attack. Promotion to the top flight duly followed.
He was already 25 when Bobby Robson awarded him his first England cap, during the build-up to the 1986 World Cup. Once in Mexico, he quickly established himself as a regular, in partnership with Lineker up front. A goal against Paraguay helped England progress to the last eight, and he kept his place for the defeat against Argentina. Both Beardsley and Lineker were still there, four years later, when England reached the semi-final at Italia '90. ‘The two of them complemented each other perfectly,' Robson would say.
Beardsley was unselfish and hard-working, a clever technician whose clever flicks and darting runs unsettled the best defences; Lineker, the instinctive poacher, played ‘off the shoulder of the last defender', as the coaching jargon goes, constantly assessing the percentages. As a rule, Beardsley created the chances; Lineker put them away.
‘We were perfect together because we never got in each other's way.' Beardsley would say. ‘Gary was always in the box and I was running about, working the channels.'
After a lengthy absence from international football in the early 1990s, Beardsley experienced a resurgence during the build-up to Euro '96, as Terry Venables revamped England's tactics. ‘With that one selection, our football became more fluid and attractive,' Venables said.
By now, he was back for a second spell at St James' Park, following a £1.5 million transfer from Everton; his value had increased by half during two productive years at Goodison Park. Here was a rare example of a player over the age of thirty whose value actually went up again.
Back in the black and white of Newcastle United, Beardsley provided a creative spark as Kevin Keegan's side thrillingly challenged Manchester United for supremacy in the mid-1990s. But for a decision by Ron Atkinson, a former manager at Old Trafford, it might have been a different story.
Back in the early 80s, an emerging Beardsley was released by Manchester United after making only one appearance. It proved a costly mistake, which Alex Ferguson twice made efforts to put right, to no avail. ‘It wasn't to be,' Ferguson said. ‘I would have loved to see Peter play in our team.'